Frame and door for a locker

ABSTRACT

A frame for a locker is a single piece of material having exterior edges, interior edges and one or more frame hinge halves formed monolithically therein. The frame is made from a blank, which is a single piece of material. A door for a locker is formed similarly from a single piece of material. The door has one or more door hinge halves formed monolithically therein. The door is pivotally mounted to the frame by a pin through intermeshing frame and door hinge halves. The monolithic construction provides frames and doors for lockers that are stronger and easier to fabricate.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to lockers, particularly to frames anddoors for lockers. More particularly, the present invention relates toblanks for production of frames and doors for lockers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lockers are used in schools, sports facilities and other buildings tostore, often on a temporary basis, the personal effects of peoplevisiting or using the building. Theft from and vandalism of such lockersis an endemic problem, the theft and vandalism usually accompanied bydamage to the face panel of the locker. Such theft and vandalism resultsin the loss of valuables to the person using the locker and in greatexpense in replacing or repairing damaged lockers.

Many types of lockers and door frame assemblies are known in the art.U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,289,363, 5,802,801, 4,579,400, 5,327,682, and6,151,848, British Patent Publication 2,393,635 and published EuropeanPatent Application 516,961 are illustrative of such lockers and/or doorframe assemblies. A common problem in all such lockers and door frameassemblies is that one or more of the parts of the frame and/or door arewelded, or otherwise attached by some attachment means, to the frame ordoor. Such welds or attachments lead to weaknesses in the structure ofthe frame and/or door. Thus, the frame and/or door, and therefore thelocker, is more susceptible to damage and forced entry. Further, havingto make welds or other attachments in the process of fabricating theframe and/or door is more expensive and time consuming since more stepsin the process, more types of equipment and more labor are required tomake the frame and door.

There remains a need in the art for frames and doors for lockers thatare stronger, more resistant to damage and are cheaper and easier toproduce.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is provided a frame for a locker, the frame comprising a singlepiece of material having exterior edges, interior edges and one or moreframe hinge halves formed monolithically therein.

There is further provided a door for a locker, the door comprising asingle piece of material having exterior edges and one or more doorhinge halves formed monolithically therein.

There is yet further provided a face panel for a locker, the face panelcomprising a frame as described above and a door as described abovepivotally mounted to the frame, the one or more door hinge halvesinteracting with the one or more frame hinge halves to pivotally mountthe door to the frame.

There is still yet further provided a blank for a frame for a locker,the blank comprising a single piece of material having a front faceportion, interior edge portions extending inwardly from the front faceportion into an interior aperture in the blank and exterior edgeportions extending outwardly from the front face portion, at least oneof the interior edge portions comprising a plurality of spaced-aparttabs.

There is still yet further provided a frame for a locker, the framecomprising the blank described above wherein the exterior edge portionsof the blank are bent back to form exterior edges of the frame, theinterior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form interior edgesof the frame and the plurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blank arerolled to form one or more frame hinge halves on the frame.

There is still yet further provided a blank for a door for a locker, theblank comprising a single piece of material having a front face portionand exterior edge portions extending outwardly from the front faceportion, at least one of the exterior edge portions comprising aplurality of spaced-apart tabs.

There is still yet further provided a door for a locker, the doorcomprising the blank described above wherein the exterior edge portionsof the blank are bent back to form exterior edges of the door and theplurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blank are rolled to form one ormore door hinge halves on the door.

There is still yet further provided a locker comprising a frame asdescribed above, a door as described above and a plurality of wallsdefining a locker volume.

There is still yet further provided a process for forming a frame for alocker, the process comprising: providing a blank for a frame asdescribed above; bending the interior edge portions to form interioredges of the frame; bending the exterior edge portions to form exterioredges of the frame; and rolling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs toform frame hinge halves.

There is still yet further provided a process for forming a door for alocker, the process comprising: providing a blank for a door asdescribed above; bending the exterior edge portions to form exterioredges of the door; and rolling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs toform door hinge halves.

The frame comprises a monolithic structure in which required elements ofthe frame including the edges and the one or more hinge halves areformed from a blank comprising a single piece of material. The doorcomprises a monolithic structure in which required elements of the doorincluding the edges and the one or more hinge halves are formed from ablank comprising a single piece of material. Blanks may be created fromsheet material by any suitable method, for example, die stamping, lasercutting, etc. Die stamping is of particular note.

To form a frame or door, elements of an appropriate blank are subjectedto forming, preferably die forming, to form corresponding elements ofthe frame or door. Die forming generally comprises bending the blank invarious places using one or more appropriately tooled dies. Any numberof die forming steps, and therefore any number of dies, may be used inthe forming process. It is preferable to use as few steps and dies aspossible to reduce cost and to reduce stress to the material.Preferably, from 1 to 4 die forming steps are required to form afinished frame or door.

The material of which blanks are made is preferably a durable materialthat can be formed into the frame or door by die forming. Such materialsinclude, for example, metals and thermoplastics. Preferably, thematerial is steel. A blank has a thickness, which may or may not beuniform throughout the blank. A blank is preferably sufficiently thin topermit die forming, while being thick enough so that the frame or doorformed therefrom is strong and can withstand a considerable amount ofdamage. The thickness is preferably in a range of from about 0.060-0.067inches, for example about 0.065 inches.

A face panel is a combination of a frame and at least one door pivotallymounted to the frame. In one embodiment, the face panel may comprise aframe of the present invention and a door of the present invention. Inanother embodiment, the face panel may comprise a frame of the presentinvention and a door not of the present invention made to fit the frame.In yet another embodiment, the face panel may comprise a door of thepresent invention and a frame not of the present invention made toaccommodate the door. Preferably, the face panel comprises a frame ofthe present invention and a door of the present invention.

The face panel may be part of a new locker, or may be fitted to anexisting locker so that the whole locker does not need to be replaced inthe event of damage to the original face panel. Face panels may have oneor more doors, with two door and six door models being common in manyinstitutions. In multiple door models, the doors are commonly aligned ina vertical manner within the frame, although aligning the doorshorizontally is also possible, particularly when the locker is orientedhorizontally rather than vertically. In multiple door models, a singlelocker is generally sub-divided into multiple compartments and the doorsare aligned with each compartment. Face panels of the present inventionmay also be used with banks of lockers.

Further features of the invention will be described or will becomeapparent in the course of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, embodimentsthereof will now be described in detail by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a blank for a frame in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 1B is a detailed view of area A in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a plan view of the blank depicted in FIG. 1A after a firstforming operation;

FIG. 2B is a detailed view of area B in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view through C-C in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a plan view of the blank depicted in FIG. 2A after a secondforming operation;

FIG. 3B is a detailed view of area D in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view through E-E in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a plan view of a frame in accordance with the presentinvention comprising the blank depicted in FIG. 3A after a third formingoperation;

FIG. 4B is a detailed view of area F in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view through G-G in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a blank for a door in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6A is a plan view of the blank depicted in FIG. 5A after a firstforming operation;

FIG. 6B is a magnified end view of the blank depicted in FIG. 5A after afirst forming operation;

FIG. 7A is a plan view of the blank depicted in FIG. 6A after a secondforming operation;

FIG. 7B is a magnified end view of the blank depicted in FIG. 6A after asecond forming operation;

FIG. 8A is a plan view of a door in accordance with the presentinvention comprising the blank depicted in FIG. 7A after a third formingoperation;

FIG. 8B is a magnified end view of a door in accordance with the presentinvention comprising the blank depicted in FIG. 8A after a third formingoperation;

FIGS. 9A to 9D are front views of locker face panels in accordance withthe present invention having one door, two doors, six doors and fourdoors, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Frames:

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, frame blank 1 for a generally rectangularlocker frame is depicted after it has been die stamped from a singleflat piece of steel and before any further forming operations have beenperformed. Blank 1 has front face portion 2, four interior edge portions3 a-d extending inwardly from front face portion 2 into central aperture4, and has four exterior edge portions 5 a-d extending outwardly fromfront face portion 2. Between the four interior edge portions are fourinterior corner slots 6 a-d which will permit bending of the interioredge portions in later forming operations. The slots are shaped toprovide further frame features as forming operations are performed. Sixsets of spaced-apart tabs 7 a-f are formed in interior edge portion 3 aon one side of the blank. As shown in FIG. 1B, a detailed view of oneset of tabs 7 a shows that there are five spaced-apart tabs per set.Holes 8 (only two labeled) are formed in the top and bottom of theblank, and will act as ventilation holes in the finished frame.

Using an appropriately tooled die, a first die forming operation isperformed on blank 1 of FIG. 1A to form the blank into a form as shownin FIG. 2A. Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C, exterior edge portions 5 a-d ofthe blank are bent back at an angle of 90-degrees from front faceportion 2 to form the exterior edges of the frame. Interior edgeportions 3 a-d are bent back at an angle of 90-degrees from front faceportion 2 to form the interior edges of the frame. Due to the shape ofthe corner slots depicted in FIG. 1A, when interior edge portions 3 band 3 c are bent back, the very edges of the two interior edge portionscan be bent another 90-degrees to remain parallel to the front faceportion to form top lip 10 and side lip 11, respectively. The lips helpform a better seal at the top and side of a locker face panel once adoor is mounted to the frame. Further, as best seen in FIG. 2C, each tabin sets of tabs 7 a-f is bent back at a tip of the tab at an angle of90-degrees from the front face portion.

Using an appropriately tooled die, a second die forming operation isperformed on the blank of FIG. 2A to form the blank into a form as shownin FIG. 3A. Referring to FIGS. 3A-3C, in the second die formingoperation, each tab in the sets of tabs 7 a-f is bent at their bases atan angle of 90-degrees from front face portion 2 so that each tabextends in a direction opposite interior edges 3 a-d. This is best seenin FIG. 3C which shows set of tabs 7 b pointing in a direction90-degrees from front face portion 2 and in a direction 180-degrees frominterior edge 3 a. Thus, the plurality of tabs all point toward thefront of the frame. Additionally, rib 15 is formed completely around theblank in front face portion 2 by pressing a perimetrical groove into thefront face portion. Rib 15 is raised from a rear of the front faceportion and will further strengthen the frame and reduce the possibilityof bowing.

Using an appropriately tooled die, a third and final die formingoperation is performed on the blank of FIG. 3A to form a finished frameas shown in FIG. 4A. Referring to FIGS. 4A-4C, sets of tabs 7 a-f arerolled to form six frame hinge halves.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, it can be seen that through a sequence of threedie forming operations, frame blank 1 comprising a single flat piece ofstainless steel can be formed into a monolithic frame for a face panelfor a locker. Exterior edge portions 5 a-d of the blank become theexterior edges of the frame. Interior edge portions 3 a-d of the blankbecome lips 10,11 and the interior edges of the frame. The six sets ofspaced-apart tabs 7 a-f of the blank become the six frame hinge halvesof the frame. Front face portion 2 of the blank becomes the front faceof the frame. Holes 8 in the blank become ventilation holes in theframe. Other features can be tooled into the blank to serve variousfunctions in the frame, for example, rib 15 formed into the blankstrengthens the frame.

Doors:

Referring to FIG. 5, door blank 51 for a generally rectangular lockerdoor is depicted after it has been die stamped from a single flat pieceof steel and before any further forming operations have been performed.Blank 51 has front face portion 52 with aperture 54 therein, and hasfour exterior edge portions 55 a-d extending outwardly from front faceportion 52. Six sets of spaced-apart tabs 57 a-f are formed in exterioredge portion 55 a on one side of the blank. There are six spaced-aparttabs per set, which will ultimately form door hinge halves that willintermesh with the frame hinge halves in a face panel. Aperture 54 isbounded by rim 58. Rim 58 has upper interior edge portion 53 betweenslots 56 a, 56 b. The slots will permit bending of the upper interioredge portion to a greater extent.

Using an appropriately tooled die, a first die forming operation isperformed on blank 51 of FIG. 5 to form the blank into a form as shownin FIGS. 6A and 6B. Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, exterior edge portion55 a and part of exterior edge portions 55 b-d are bent back at an angleof 90-degrees from front face portion 52. Exterior edge portion 55 aforms the exterior edge of the door on the side of the door that willhave the hinge halves. The bent parts of exterior edge portions 55 b-dwill ultimately form rear, inwardly pointing lips running around theother three exterior edges of the door. As best seen in FIG. 6B, eachtab in sets of tabs 57 a-f (only 57 f shown in FIG. 6B) is bent back ata tip of the tab at an angle of 90-degrees from the front face portion.As best seen in FIG. 6B, upper interior edge portion 53 is bent back atan angle of 90-degrees from front face portion 2. Rim 58 is pushedforward so that the rim protrudes forwardly from front face portion 52with upper interior edge portion 53 protruding back from the blank.

Using an appropriately tooled die, a second die forming operation isperformed on the blank of FIG. 6A to form the blank into a form as shownin FIGS. 7A and 7B. Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, in the second dieforming operation, each tab in the sets of tabs 57 a-f is bent at theirbases at an angle of 90-degrees from front face portion 52 so that eachtab extends forwardly of front face portion 52. This is best seen inFIG. 7B, which shows set of tabs 57 f pointing in a direction 90-degreesfrom front face portion 52.

Using an appropriately tooled die, a third and final die formingoperation is performed on the blank of FIG. 7A to form a door as shownin FIGS. 8A and 8B. Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, exterior edge portions55 b-d are bent back at an angle of 90-degrees from front face portion 2to form the exterior edges of the door on their respective sides. Asindicated in connection with FIG. 6, the previously bent parts ofexterior edge portions 55 b-d form rear, inwardly pointing lips runningaround these three exterior edges of the door. Further, sets of tabs 57a-f are rolled to form six door hinge halves.

Referring to FIGS. 5-8, it can be seen that through a sequence of threedie forming operations, door blank 51 comprising a single flat piece ofstainless steel can be formed into a monolithic door for a face panelfor a locker. Exterior edge portions 55 a-d of the blank become theexterior edges of the door. The six sets of spaced-apart tabs 57 a-f ofthe blank become the six door hinge halves of the door. Front faceportion 2 of the blank becomes the front face of the door. Rim 58 andupper interior edge portion 53 of the blank become the handle of thedoor and provide a location where a locking mechanism can be mounted.

Face Panels:

Referring to FIGS. 9A-9D, four variations of face panels are shown, allof which combine monolithic frames and monolithic doors of the presentinvention. A single frame can accommodate various numbers of doors. Asshown in FIGS. 9A-9D, a single frame having six frame hinge halves canaccommodate one, two, six or four doors by providing doors ofappropriate size with door hinge halves placed to coincide with theframe hinge halves. Thus, it can be seen that the frame and face panelof the present invention are particularly advantageous as a single framecan be utilized in many different locker variations, and replacement ofthe frame is simple and cost effective as one size of frame fits all thevariations.

Referring to FIG. 9A, a face panel having one large door is shown. Door62 is pivotally mounted to frame 60 at six hinges 63 (only one labeled).Six door hinge halves of the door intermesh with six frame hinge halvesof the frame, the intermeshed hinge halves held together with pins.

Referring to FIG. 9B, a face panel having two doors is shown. Upper andlower doors 72, 74 are pivotally mounted to a single frame 70. Threedoor hinge halves of upper door 72 intermesh with three of the framehinge halves of the frame to form three hinges 73 (only one labeled),the intermeshed hinge halves held together with pins. Three door hingehalves of lower door 74 intermesh with three of the frame hinge halvesof the frame to form three hinges 75 (only one labeled) the intermeshedhinge halves held together with pins.

Referring to FIG. 9C, a face panel having six doors is shown. Doors 81a-f are pivotally mounted to a single frame 80 at hinges 82 a-f. Eachdoor has one door hinge half, which is intermeshed with one of the framehinge halves. The intermeshed hinge halves are held together with pins.

Referring to FIG. 9D, a face panel having four doors is shown. Threeidentically sized doors 91 a-c are pivotally mounted to a single frame90 at single hinges 92 a-c. One larger sized door 93 is pivotallymounted to the same frame 90 at three hinges 94 (only one labeled). Eachof the smaller doors 91 a-c has one door hinge half, which isintermeshed with one of the frame hinge halves. The larger door 93 hasthree door hinge halves, which are intermeshed with three of the framehinge halves. The intermeshed hinge halves are held together with pins.

Behind the face panels are lockers. Lockers have a floor, a ceiling andthree walls. Where the face panel has more than one door, the lockersalso comprise shelves to create separated compartments, each compartmentaccessed by a different door.

Other advantages which are inherent to the structure are obvious to oneskilled in the art. The embodiments are described herein illustrativelyand are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as claimed.Variations of the foregoing embodiments will be evident to a person ofordinary skill and are intended by the inventor to be encompassed by thefollowing claims.

1. Frame for a locker, the frame comprising a single piece of materialhaving exterior edges, interior edges and one or more frame hinge halvesformed monolithically therein.
 2. Door for a locker, the door comprisinga single piece of material having exterior edges and one or more doorhinge halves formed monolithically therein.
 3. Face panel for a locker,the face panel comprising a frame as claimed in claim 1 and a door asclaimed in claim 2 pivotally mounted to the frame, the one or more doorhinge halves interacting with the one or more frame hinge halves topivotally mount the door to the frame.
 4. Blank for a frame for alocker, the blank comprising a single piece of material having a frontface portion, interior edge portions extending inwardly from the frontface portion into an interior aperture in the blank and exterior edgeportions extending outwardly from the front face portion, at least oneof the interior edge portions comprising a plurality of spaced-aparttabs.
 5. Blank of claim 4, wherein the front face portion isrectangular.
 6. Blank of claim 4, wherein all of the spaced-apart tabsare on one of the interior edge portions.
 7. Blank of claim 6, whereinthe plurality of spaced-apart tabs comprises six sets of spaced-aparttabs.
 8. Blank of claim 7, wherein each set of spaced-apart tabscomprises five tabs.
 9. Frame for a locker comprising the blank asclaimed in claim 4, wherein the exterior edge portions of the blank arebent back to form exterior edges of the frame, the interior edgeportions of the blank are bent back to form interior edges of the frameand the plurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blank are rolled to formone or more frame hinge halves on the frame.
 10. Frame of claim 9,further comprising a rib in the front face portion raised from a rear ofthe front face portion.
 11. Blank for a door for a locker, the blankcomprising a single piece of material having a front face portion andexterior edge portions extending outwardly from the front face portion,at least one of the exterior edge portions comprising a plurality ofspaced-apart tabs.
 12. Blank of claim 11, wherein all of thespaced-apart tabs are on one of the exterior edge portions.
 13. Blank ofclaim 11, wherein the spaced-apart tabs comprises six tabs.
 14. Blank ofclaim 11, further comprising an aperture in the front face portion. 15.Door for a locker comprising the blank as claimed in claim 11, whereinthe exterior edge portions of the blank are bent back to form exterioredges of the door and the plurality of spaced-apart tabs of the blankare rolled to form one or more door hinge halves on the door.
 16. Doorof claim 15, further comprising a handle, the handle formedmonolithically in the door by bending back a rim of an aperture in thefront face portion of the blank.
 17. Face panel for a locker comprisinga frame as claimed in claim 9 and a door as claimed in claim 15pivotally mounted to the frame, the one or more door hinge halvesinteracting with the one or more frame hinge halves to pivotally mountthe door to the frame.
 18. Face panel of claim 17, wherein the door ispivotally mounted to the frame by one or more pins through the one ormore frame hinge halves and one or more door hinge halves.
 19. Lockercomprising a face panel as claimed in claim 17 and a plurality of wallsdefining a locker volume.
 20. Process for forming a frame for a locker,the process comprising: providing a blank as claimed in claim 4; bendingthe interior edge portions to form interior edges of the frame; bendingthe exterior edge portions to form exterior edges of the frame; androlling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs to form frame hinge halves.21. Process of claim 20, further comprising pressing a perimetricalgroove into the front face portion to form a rib raised from a rear ofthe front face portion.
 22. Process for forming a door for a locker, theprocess comprising: providing a blank as claimed in claim 11; bendingthe exterior edge portions to form exterior edges of the door; androlling the plurality of spaced-apart tabs to form door hinge halves.23. Process of claim 22, further comprising forming a handle in the doorby bending back a rim of an aperture in the front face portion of theblank.